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A farm sits under floodwaters in Hato Grande on the northern outskirts of Bogota, Colombia, on May 21, 2011. From Chile to Colombia to Mexico, Latin America has been battered recently by wildfires, floods and droughts. A June 2012 survey of 468 cities worldwide by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology finds major cities in Latin America are further along in preparing for climate change than those in the United States.

Felicity Aston on Nov. 4 in Punta Arenas, Chile, her jumping-off point for Antarctica. She was expected to land on the frozen continent late Friday.

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“You haven’t combed your hair, you’ve never had time to get dressed, life has always surprised you,” wrote Chilean poet Pablo Neruda about Valparaiso. His hilltop hideaway is one of the city’s most popular attractions.

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The Casa Higueras, a 1930s mansion-turned-boutique hotel and restaurant, is a great place to take in views of Valparaíso’s harbor. The port was a major stopover for 19th-century ships traveling between Atlantic and Pacific ports via the Strait of Magellan.

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After decades of neglect following the opening of the Panama Canal, the gritty, bohemian port of Valparaiso has become a magnet for artists, writers and romantics.

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A highlight of an excursion to El Tatio geysers is a dip in a mineral springs bath – though getting out can be tough, given the frigid atmosphere at nearly 14,000 feet.

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Early risers headed from San Pedro de Atacama to El Tatio, one of the highest geyser fields in the world, may be lucky enough to catch an Andean sunrise like this one.

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Though San Pedro de Atacama draws plenty of backpackers on a budget, the town is also home to a string of small, high-end lodges with all-inclusive programs combining room, dining and guided tours. One of the most popular: Alto Atacama, whose eco-friendly, unobtrusive design blends into the surrounding Catarpe Valley.

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The Valle de la Luna ( Moon Valley), with its eerie landscape of colored gypsum, clay and salt, is San Pedro de Atacama’s most accessible and popular tourist attraction – particularly at sunset.

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Pink flamingos from the Chaxa Lagoon near San Pedro de Atacama make their way across a cloudless Andean sky and the 19,400-foot Lincancabur volcano.

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Room with a view: The Hotel Salto Chico, one of three upscale, all-inclusive Explora lodges in Chile, is located in the heart of Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park and features staggering vistas of the Paine Massif.

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The guanaco, a relative of the now-domesticated llama, is a familiar sight in Patagonia's Torres del Paine National Park.

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Andean condors, which make their homes on Chile’s steep mountain slopes and seaside cliffs, can fly as high as 15,000 feet at speeds of nearly 35 miles per hour.

As millions of viewers across the globe watched the last of 33 trapped Chilean miners emerge from their subterranean prison into the glare of cameras on a cold desert night, Chile is hoping for a boost from its own ecstatic turn in the media spotlight.

Chilean Air Force planes fly during a military parade on Army Day and during bicentennial celebrations in Santiago, Chile.

Relatives of 33 miners trapped in a copper mine carry an image of Our Lady of Carmen around the mine compound near Copiapo, Chile. Rescue workers are attempting to drill a rescue shaft to reach the miners trapped underground after the main access tunnel collapsed Aug. 5.

Alejandro Contreras, right, a relative of one of the 33 trapped miners, points to a TV showing videos of the miners from inside his tent. Miners Jose Rojas, front, and Miguel Valenzuela, top, look on outside the collapsed San Jose mine in Copiapo, Chile. The miners, who have been trapped since the shaft they were working in collapsed on Aug. 5, were confirmed to be alive Sunday when they were reached by rescue teams via a small hole through which they could pass messages.

An image of Florencio Avalos, one of the 33 miners trapped in the San Jose collapsed mine, is seen on a TV set near the mine in Copiapo, Chile. The miners, who have been trapped since the shaft they worked in collapsed Aug. 5, were confirmed to be alive Sunday when they were reached by rescue teams via a small hole through which they could pass messages and record the miners with a camera.

Elias Sepulveda, right, embraces her cousine Katherine next to a tribute and support site with candles, flags and messages for their relatives Esteban and Pablo Rojas, two of the 33 miners trapped at the collapsed mine San Jose in Copiapo, Chile.

Relatives of miners trapped in the San Esteban gold and copper mine in Copiapo hug each other a day after learning via a camera lowered deep below ground that the 33 workers were alive and in good health. Chilean rescue teams prepared to launch a potentially months-long bid to retrieve the miners who have spent more than two weeks trapped underground.

Universidad de Chile's Juan Manuel Olivera, left, fights for the ball with Chivas' Miguel Angel Ponce of Mexico during the Copa Libertadores semifinal soccer match in Santiago, Chile. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Before sunrise in Santiago, Chile, a soccer fan waves a Chilean flag during the World Cup match between Chile and Honduras. Chile's Jean Beausejour tapped in the only goal of the match, giving Chile its first World Cup victory in 48 years.

Chile midfielder Jorge Valdivia, No. 10, goes up for a header with Honduras defenseman Maynor Figueroa during Group H play.

A Mexican sailor cleans the figurehead of the sailboat Cuauhtemoc in the port of Valparaiso during the Bicentennial race.

Ethiopia's Alene Reta arrives at the finish line with a four-legged friend to win the Santiago's marathon in Chile's capital city. Reta's time was 2 hours, 12 minutes and 32 seconds.

Competitors race their bikes during the first women's race in the ITU Triathlon series in Sydney, Australia. Barbara Riveros Diaz of Chile won the race.

Nelly Furtado performs in Santiago, Chile, on Monday.

Earthquake survivor Ivonne Valenzuela reacts in front of her destroyed home in Iloca, Chile.

In Iloca, Chile, Ivonne Valenzuela cries in front of her home, which was destroyed in the Feb. 27 earthquake.

People push a truck loaded with supplies to higher ground after a tsunami alert triggered by a magnitude-7.2 aftershock in Constitucion, Chile.

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo, right, and Bolivian President Evo Morales, center, look up during an aftershock at the inaugural ceremony Thursday of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in Valparaiso, Chile.

A boat sits on the rubble of a house after a tsunami caused by an earthquake Feb. 27 in Dichato, Chile.

Nancy Mavaboli, left, and her children, Juan Carlos and Luis, live in a tent after their home was destroyed by the magnitude-8.8 earthquake and tsunami in Constitution, Chile.

Residents unload drinking water from a truck in Constitucion, Chile.

People stay in a refugee camp in the outskirts of Constitucion.

Volunteers of the "A roof for Chile" social program help build houses for people who were left homeless by the quake and tsunami in IIoca.

Site of Montini circus is seen in IIoca.

A boy reacts as he is vaccinated in Constitucion.

A volunteer helps feed an elderly man in Constitucion.

Chilean nurse Alejandra Pena helps organize beds at a field hospital in Concepcion.

A couple kisses in front of a destroyed church in Constitucion.

Members of the Barra Brioles family sit outside their houses after an aftershock hit Concepcion, Chile.

Residents of the Pedro del Rio neighborhood take water from a fire hydrant in Concepcion, Chile. Several areas of the city remain without running water after a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile's central coastal region Feb. 27.

Brazilian soldiers board a military plane loaded with supplies departing to Chile in Rio de Janeiro.

Rubble from a house demolished by the earthquake is removed in Constitucion.

Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera vowed his government would focus on reconstruction after the huge earthquake and tsunami that battered the nation.

Sofia Fernandez, right, helped by two men, recovers items from her damaged store in Cunaripe.

Soldiers detain suspected looters in Talcahuano.

A soldier fumigates rubble to prevent infections in Cunaripe.

People carry aid for earthquake victims in Santiago.

Children play in a makeshift camp for people left homeless by an earthquake in Tubul.

People take clothing sent to them as aid at a makeshift camp for quake survivors in Dichato.

Soldiers walk past earthquake-damaged homes in Tubul, Chile.

Donated coffins for victims of Saturday’s magnitude-8.8 earthquake are stacked in Constitucion, Chile.

Chilean soldiers assemble a tent at the football stadium in Constitucion.

Firefighters wait for the arrival of a military helicopter carrying aid in Dichato.

A woman receives potable water in Constitucion. The official death toll from the magnitude-8.8 earthquake rose to 799, the national emergency office said.

Residents receive water in Constitucion.

Coffins were donated for earthquake victims in Constitucion.

Troops and firefighters unload aid from a military helicopter in Dichato.

Elderly Chileans rest in an improvised dormitory at Kolping Hotel in Linares.

A soldier stands guard as people wait to receive aid in Constitucion.

Music teacher Claudia Vergara reacts over a damaged piano at her destroyed house in Constitucion.

Members of the Chilean military and volunteers load boxes with relief supplies at the airport in Santiago.

A policeman stands near donated medicines at a radio station in Concepcion.

An excavator removes debris of Las Rosas residential home for elderly people, heavily damaged by the earthquake, in Linares.

A local resident repairs the damages caused on the walls of a house in Linares.

A Marine patrols in Dichato. The government deployed thousands of army and navy troops throughout the country's central coastal region that was hit by a powerful earthquake.

Benjamira Neira Zapata assesses the damage to her home in Penca, Chile, after a Feb. 27 earthquake and tsunami.

A man sits in a home destroyed in Saturday’s magnitude-8.8 earthquake in Los Pellines, Chile.

Chilean soldiers remove debris left by the massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Curanipe.

Firefighters search for victims March 2 amid the debris in Curanipe.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walks with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet at the airport in Santiago on March 2.

Clinton dropped off 20 satellite phones and assessed what the United States can do to help the country recover.

Chilean soldiers patrol the streets of Concepcion. Chile has increased the number of troops dispatched to areas devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami to 14,000.

Residents set up makeshift shelters March 2 in Constitucion.

The earthquake Feb. 27 left a gap in a road in Pelluhue, a coastal town.

A panarama of utter destruction remains in Pelluhue, where a tsunami washed ashore an hour after the earthquake.

Kittens roam the debris of a house destroyed by Chile's earthquake in Curanipe.

Firefighters search for victims under a collapsed bridge in Curanipe.

Bejamira Neira Zapata sits in the doorway of her home surrounded by debris in Penca, Chile. A tsunami rolled through her coastal village after Saturday’s magnitude-8.8 earthquake.